I have a 6-7yr old Corallife 500w fixture. Very, very "solid" (like a tank!). Gotta agree with Luna. I was gonna buy a new sytem, "upgrade" to a 2X250w with 4-T5's......just because, I guess. This was for my new 120g reef that I just finished plumbing this month. I decided to play around with the spectrums and different type of bulbs, etc.(buddy works at LFS). I stayed with the Coralife fixture. Opened it up an spent 2 days just cleaning it up and re-tightening screws, blew out the fans and whatnot. I changed out and settled for 2 -150w 14K Ushio (middle of the road) & the 2-96w PC's to Sunpaq or something like that (not cheap!!), 1-50/50, the other Actinic.

Man, you just cannot believe the change!!! I'm just glad I didn't jump on the bandwagon and spend, spend, spend just because everyone else does. Take time and check your stuff out or learn how to do-it-yourself. You'll save big $$$ !!!

I put some of the savings into a new Ca Reactor and some real nice chalices.

+1 with jonine. I had a 48 inch odyssea fixture and the same thing happened to me. I opened it up and the compassitor(spelling) had burned or melted. Could not find a replacement for it so I spent the money and got a Coral Life fixture in it's place.

I'm looking at the Odyssea lights also. I am transferring from a 55gal to a 58gal/sump with a canopy and am wondering if the 442W metal halide system would be o.k. I don't want to get in to a chiller situation. Or should I go with 2 of the T5HO systems? I currently have LPS corals.
Thanks

I'm looking at the Odyssea lights also. I am transferring from a 55gal to a 58gal/sump with a canopy and am wondering if the 442W metal halide system would be o.k. I don't want to get in to a chiller situation. Or should I go with 2 of the T5HO systems? I currently have LPS corals.
Thanks

Click to expand...

The new odyssea pro T5 fixtures look pretty decent. They have builtin digital timers for the led, actinics, and daylights. They have single reflectors for each bulb and only one power cord! I think it goes for about $130. I would check it out. That would be more than enough light for a 55g. You could keep anything.

I as well as 2 of my friends love our odyssea fixtures. I have the 48" 2 250w MH, 4 65w pc actinics, and 12 moonlights. My bulbs are getting old. I am going to change spectrums. Move up to the 15k from aquatraders. I have 10k bulbs now on my mh.

The new odyssea pro T5 fixtures look pretty decent. They have builtin digital timers for the led, actinics, and daylights. They have single reflectors for each bulb and only one power cord! I think it goes for about $130. I would check it out. That would be more than enough light for a 55g. You could keep anything.

How did you like the 15k bulbs?
I am thinking about ordering the 72" 3x250w MH/PC fixture which comes with the 15k bulbs.

Click to expand...

its been a while since anyone has been on this thread... but to answer your questions, the ballast really underpowers the bulbs and makes them look yellow... very yellow!

You will likely have to replace the bulbs right away with a nice brand name bulb. Additionally, the ballast is really cheaply made. My dad has this fixture and this morning one of the ballasts died so we had to head out and purchase a new icecap ballast to replace it with.

Useful Searches

About 3Reef

Reef aquariums made easy with 3reef aquarium forums - one of the oldest and friendliest aquarium forums online. 3reef came online in 1996 as 'Three Steps To A Reef Aquarium.' This title was created as an attempt to overcome the common fears associated with keeping a reef aquarium, especially at that time. 3reef still retains its roots and remains a friendly forum for new people interested in aquariums and veteran hobbyist alike.